Living Your Truth

Group program: Embrace 2.0Work with me: 1:1 coaching and mentoring for creativesBook a free 15-min discovery call with meSign up to the fortnightly lettersConnect with me on instagram @hirasahmedConnect with me on LinkedIn“Nothing comes as an accomplishment instantly. Success does not come overnight. Patience is the key! Grow up and be the tree; but remember it takes dry and wet seasons to become a fruit bearer, achiever, and impact maker!” - Israelmore Ayivor

Work with me: 1:1 coaching and mentoring for creativesGroup program: EmbraceBook a free 15-min discovery call with meSign up to the fortnightly lettersConnect with me on instagram @hirasahmed

Book: Steal Like an Artist by Austin KleonGroup program: EmbraceWork with me: 1:1 coaching and mentoring for creativesBook a free call with meSign up to the fortnightly lettersConnect with me on instagram @hirasahmed

Book: Playing Big by Tara MohrBook: Untamed by Glennon DoyleBook: The Artist's Way by Julia CameronPodcast episode: It all starts with the mindsetGroup program: EmbraceWork with me: 1:1 coaching and mentoring for creativesBook a free call with meSign up to the fortnightly lettersConnect with me on instagram @hirasahmed

Work with me: 1:1 coaching and mentoringBook a free call with meSign up to the fortnightly lettersConnect with me on instagram @hirasahmed

Work with me: 1:1 coaching and mentoringBook a free call with meSign up to the fortnightly lettersConnect with me on instagram @hirasahmed

Book: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert Figuring things out as we go with Giulia - Season 1, Ep. 4Owning our stories with Hira Sameer Ahmed - Season 1, Ep. 1Sign up to the fortnightly lettersAsk me a question or send me a DM and connect with me on instagram and let's keep the conversation going.

Embrace - the group program (Doors are opening today!!)Gretchen Rubin's four tendencies testThere are other ways podcastSign up to the fortnightly lettersAsk me a question or send me a DM and connect with me on instagram and let's keep the conversation going.

Work with me - 1 : 1 Coaching for creativesEmbrace - the group offering sneak peek Learn more about me and the work I do over on my websiteSign up to the fortnightly lettersAsk me a question or send me a DM and connect with me on instagram and let's keep the conversation going.

Agnes is an artist, freelance science communication consultant and creator of the online shop, we are stardust. We are stardust is a print design shop where art and science collide.In this episode, we talked about her journey of combining science and art, creating a niche market for herself, going freelance, doing things her own way and how she is making it all work.Her artwork is absolutely gorgeous. Agnes's story is the last of this series: the end of the first season of living your truth podcast. I am super happy to share her story with you as her story is a testament to doing things in our own unique, messy and human way. I am sure this episode will also give you permission to do things in their own way too.Survey 2020 (plus as a thank you 10% off discount code)Here's what we talk about in this episode:a beautiful introduction about Agnes herself and her online adventure, we are stardustthe uncommon combination of art and science in her workCraving a unique niche for herself: Freelance Science Communication Consultanthow it all started and what did the journey of getting here looked likethe distinction between art and science was not something that made sense to her and she tried to combine the two in a way that would make sense when she was choosing her graduate studiesfinding your feet in the job marketdoing part-time jobs to keep yourself afloat while living in an expensive city like Londonunderstanding how you work bestgoing freelancesetting up the online shop and where the inspiration came frombecoming a mumperfectionism and how she approaches itwhy it is important for her to do what she doesart, drawing, and painting as a form of meditationobserving better and being curious about your surroundingsyou don't always have to know everythingher struggles when she first launched we are stardustclarity and the fear of what other people will think or say about uscurrent strugglesprioritising better and learning to prioritise the ones that bring you joyhaving a limited time in your handslearning to say no and practicing kindnesshaving a plan in advance takes the indecision awaystarting with the creative expression when starting to work instead of sitting down to do the admin or editorial tasksfinding support online and offlineit all starts with the mindsetlearning to embrace and let things flow instead of trying to perfect them and control themher creative process and how she likes to spend her daysthe pressure we put on ourselves for our creativity to earn us moneypracticing gratitudewhat does living a wholehearted creative life looks like for herFind links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.Agnes Becker's website and InstagramHira's website and InstagramSign up for 'A letter from me to you'

Rubeena is the business owner of a creative shop, The Gray Muse, a social worker and a psychotherapist by profession. The Gray Muse was founded in 2019 and it is the first enamel pin shop designed specifically with crafters and artists in mind.In this episode, we talked about setting up a creative business for yourself, enjoying the process more than the outcome, finding your own version of success and the importance of listening to your own intuition to guide the way.Here's what we talk about in this episode:a little background and intro about Rubeena and her workhow she started her businessfocusing on academics and never allowing her creativity to flourish before turning 29learning to combine the artistic and analytical sideconnecting with the artistic sideart allows you to let go of control and perfectionismthe process is way more important than the outcomethe approach is different if you choose to study design or fine artsfinding your stylehaving a sense of play when it comes to creating is importantbecoming okay with good enough work instead of obsessing over the perfect oneyour work will resonate with some people and it won't resonate with others but it is nothing personaltaking risks and becoming okay with the resultshow becoming a mother taught her to stretch her comfort zonethe importance of staying curiousasking for help when you need itlistening to your intuitiontrusting yourself along the wayyou are more capable than you give yourself credit foryou can achieve anything you put your mind to is a mindsetthe need to feel like an expert and why we don't believe in the myth of being an expertinformation overload in this erafinding your very own version of successpeople-pleasing won't take you much farthe relation between success and your agewhat her day looks likeadvice for someone who wants to start their own creative businessFind links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.Rubeena's website and InstagramHira's website and InstagramSign up for 'A letter from me to you'

Sarah is a watercolor artist, photographer and nature enthusiast based in Seine et Marne, France. She paints beautiful landscapes and she teaches online on Skillshare.I have been following her work for a while and it was such an honour to invite her and talk to her about her process. In this episode, we chatted about her love for nature and how it inspires her to paint, why is it important for her to create and how it all began. Sarah creates every day. At least one painting a day. I find it fascinating. I hope you'll enjoy learning about her journey too!Here's what we talk about in this episode:a little background and intro about Sarah and her workhow she lost touch with her creative side while growing up and why that happenedwhen money is involved it impacts the way you show up for your creativityhow moving to the countryside played a role in her connection back to her creativityshe paints landscapes in watercolors and how it all beganher struggles in the beginninghow everything doesn't turn out how you want it to be in the beginninglearning to accept the beginner stagebecoming okay with experimentingthe medium of watercolors invite experimentationhow she developed her own unique style with time and what the journey of finding her own artistic voice looked likecommitting to practicingdoing a 100 day project for paintingcurrent project: 30 day project of painting forest inspired by the colors of autumnwhy is it important for her to create and celebrate nature through her workhaving the time and space to slow down and be mindfulstepping outside of your comfort zoneadvice for creatives who are struggling to find their own artistic voicehow she likes to spend her dayshaving a morning ritual and starting your day with doing something for yourself that brings you joymaking a habit of painting a painting every single dayteaching online skillshare classesspeaking and teaching in English when it is not your first languagelearning different languagesfocusing more on the process instead of the outcomelearning that there are no right or wrong ways of doing things especially in creating arthaving a dream and making living from your artfinding the motivation to keep goingto or not to monetize your artFind links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.Sarah's website and InstagramSarah's Etsy shop and Skillshare coursesHira's website and InstagramSign up for 'A letter from me to you'

Rebecca is a southwest-based multi-passionate creative; photographer, jeweler, painter, and writer. She likes keeping her hands and mind busy, in the studio and out in nature. She has self-published over 20 artist books. She makes jewelry by hand with recycled gold and silver, conflict-free diamonds and ethically sourced stones. She uses natural light and elements to tell stories with her photography. Her paintings focus on light and highlight climate change.In this episode, we chatted about what it is like to be a multi-passionate with an interdisciplinary approach towards making art.This episode is more like a casual conversation where Becca is sharing her story, how she sees the world and what has shaped her approach. If you consider yourself a multi-passionate too, this episode will encourage you to give permission to follow your curiosities in a way that works for you and keep going.Here's what we talk about in this episode:a little intro about Rebecca and her workhow she juggles and makes time for all these different creative ventureswhat helps her in making time for writingfiguring out ways to clear the head and making time to do nothingher experience of going to art schoolwhere the interdisciplinary approach comes fromstruggles of being a multi-passionatehow she manages her focusnot making everything about working or making money but having a few things to do as a hobbybuilding healthy habits: carving more time for readingfinding goals that have nothing to do with work like training for a marathon so you are not always in the studiowhat following your curiosity looks likecarving out time where there are no expectations so you are letting yourself to be curiousthe importance of being boredmanaging time and your energies along the wayreconnecting with your own creativity when you start to feel overwhelmedthe artists way inspired activities that help: morning pages and artist datesimportance of asking yourself questions that move you forwardhow to tackle the overwhelm and busy monthsalways learning something new and staying engagedher collection of paintings on the climate change - in her own words, ''things we don't see, things we can't see and things we won't see because it is all changing so much''we create connections by visual artwork and sharing our thoughts in that waythe different mediums give you different kinds of opportunities and lifestylesself-employment and the need for human interactioncurrent struggles along the lines of recovering from burnout and too much work and staying inspiredthe struggles with connection, internet, and social media as solace for self-employed creatives but also, it is taking over our livesrelationship with Instagram - Instagram and connectionlearning to balance the use of social media and putting the phone downother sides of small business: accounting, finances and administration taskslearning to be more efficientthe creative process on a day to day basis and how she likes to spend her daysthe role of planning ahead of time and having a bigger picture in her workenjoying the flexibility that comes with working for yourselfstaying motivated on a day to day basisliving close to nature and how it inspires her creative processFind links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.Rebecca's website and InstagramHira's website and InstagramFinding Your Focus as a Multi-passionate ebookBlog posts for multi-passionate creative humans:A letter to multi-passionate creatives28 insights from a multi-passionate creativeStruggles of a multi-passionateSign up for 'A letter from me to you'

Maria is an artist living in Stockholm, Sweden. She paints mostly abstract landscapes in watercolors and acrylics. Her aim is to capture the majestic nature and reserved cultural atmosphere of Scandinavia in her art. Her hope is that her work will bring a sense of calm to the viewer.This episode is about Maria's story of growing into an artist. She shares her personal struggles and where she is at now in her journey. We talked a lot about making art and what stands in the way and how to approach it. There is a lot of great advice for creatives.This episode is a treat for visual artists and painters as her approach to art is inspiring and uplifting. I really hope you'll enjoy the conversation as much as I did and take something of value out of it.Here's what we talk about in this episode:a little intro about Maria and her workgrowing up with an artist mother and how she felt afraid of her work being compared to her mother'schoosing graphic design over painting and making art to follow the structure plus rules and saving herself from getting it wrongpainting for the sake of the process in privatemoving through the discomforttaking a leap and taking two years off to paint and figure out what she would like to be doing nexthow she is managing her time and work onlinemanaging the company and showing her work onlinethe creative freedom that we all long fortaking the pressure off by allowing yourself to not make money from your artfinding your style and how to go about itputting in the hours in your art practice is importanthow she approaches paintingways to keep yourself motivated and not getting disappointed along the waycreating without focusing on a specific outcome but creating for the sake of creatingan exercise for perfectionists who would like to paintthe 100 day project of paintinghow one can take the pressure off your paintingsgrowing and developing as an artistdetaching your self-worth from your work allows you to experiment morelearning to not think what other people say about your art because it is not for everyoneadvice for someone who is starting outinvesting in fewer good materials instead of having more cheaper onesstruggles with not wanting to waste the materials and how to go about ither struggles with creative blocksFind links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.Maria's website and InstagramHira's website and InstagramSign up for letters from Hira

Ruth is a creative business mentor to quietly ambitious women based in the UK. She has been in the online business world for about 11 years. Ruth recognizes herself as a massive introverted shy human.In this episode, we talked about what is it like to be an introvert who is quietly ambitious in the online business world, how she is managing her energy and building the stamina to keep showing up as her self while honouring her needs and how and where is she finding support. We also talked about noticing the difference between when it is fear that is holding us back and when it is the need to recharge and take some time off.This episode is full of juicy bits and aha moments for introverts who are trying to put themselves out there and are ambitious. Connecting to Ruth and seeing her taking up space online has been a real joy and confidence booster for me. I hope you'll enjoy the conversation as much as I did.Here's what we talk about in this episode:a little intro about Ruth and her workbeing a quiet, ambitious, shy and introverted humanworking and building a business in a way that works for usstruggles of showing up as yourselfher personal story and experience of embracing her introverted sidebusiness and life being one thing when you build a personal brandputting yourself out there as the face of your brandstarting a business brings up all the insecurities you have about yourselfstarting a business is a vulnerable thingthere is not just one way to do thingssharing and showing up as yourself honestly brings in people who resonate with your values and you as a personstretching your comfort zoneputting yourself out there is a practice, the more you do it, the more you become comfortable with putting yourself out thereshowing up on talking to camera stories on Instagram, the struggles and how you can build that confidencehow to approach that idea that you have nothing interesting or important to say or add to the conversationwhat resonates with people and how you make connections as an introverthow to maintain your energy levels as an introvertthe difference between do I really need to recharge or is there something to work onbeing quiet and introverted is not a bad thingowning our introverted selves and maintaining healthy boundariesnoticing the difference between fear holding us back and our need to recharge as an introverted humanFind links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.Ruth's website, Instagram and podcastHira's website and InstagramSign up for letters from Hira

Huma is a writer, a journalist and an award-winning author, and she writes about the extraordinary joy and beauty that can be found in ordinary little things, creating a home, navigating motherhood, and living simply and purposefully.In this episode, we talked about her love for the written word, how her south Asian heritage has influenced her as a person and as a writer as well, learning to say no and navigating writing, life, and motherhood all at the same time.Huma and I share the same cultural heritage as we are both from Pakistan. I grew up in Pakistan and she didn't but still, our experiences are quite the same in many ways. We also talked about inclusion, why representation matters and why we need to hear, see and read more stories in which we can see ourselves reflected to create space for what's possible for us.Here's what we talk about in this episode:how it all begun and what influenced her desire to writejournalism and moving on to writing for herselfmotherhood and the struggle with self-doubtbecoming a freelance writerdeveloping reading as a habithow having an Asian heritage has influenced her as a person and as a writer while living far from the culture itselfInclusion: we need more stories we can relate to because representation mattersinclusivity in the book publishing world, the media publishing world and also on the micro levels of blogs, Instagram and social mediawhy do we need to hear and share those stories really?expectations from girls who grow up in Asian culture and how it can feel heavySouth Asian culture and marriagesher personal story of looking for examples when she fell in love with an Englishmanhow did Huma allowed herself to not let those societal and cultural pressures decide how she chooses to show up in the worldthe struggles of finding a balance between motherhood and her love for writinglearning to say nohow her blog came to bethe failures along the wayfinding her way back to her writingwhy she writeswhat does her day to day creative process look liketeaching writing courses onlinenot seeing herself as being the expertFind links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.Huma's website and InstagramHira's website and Instagram

Here's what we talk about in this episode:what does she do and how she startedmoving from a corporate world to the freelancer lifeher struggle with claiming the title, 'writer'the traditional expectations of the title, 'writer' and how it stood in her waywhat did her process of finding her truth looked likeslowing down, yoga and meditationthe need to have it all figured outquestioning herself: 'I don't have a dream' so where does that leave me?how she struggled with not having a purposelearning how to be curious againhow we are all in the middle of it and figuring it out as we gohow she likes to spend her days and weekswhy she became a freelancer in the first placefilling life and days with joy instead of work, work, and workhearing the stories of others inspired her to make space and gave her permission to figure out what she wanted to do with her lifehow stories give her the assurance to see what's possiblestruggling with identity and a title to describe yourselfthe struggle of re-framing your identity after leaving your jobthe importance of going through the processstruggles with perfectionism and indecisionfiguring out your voice growing up in different cultures as women and having to struggle with being financially dependent on your male counterpartsFind links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.Giulia's website, Instagram and PinterestHira's website and Instagram

Jill Dimond Art is an artist, photographer, and transcriber. She likes to draw nature and celebrate wildlife through her art. In this conversation, we talked about her journey of embracing her love for making art, doing the work, finding the courage to share her work online and building creative confidence along the way too.Here's what we talk about in the episode:realizing her creative sidegathering the courage to share her work onlinestruggles with procrastination and perfectionismdeveloping the practice of making artcelebrating wildlife and nature via artthe importance of creatingstruggles with confidence and a different approach towards feeling confidentfeeling the discomfort in the creative processtrying something new and feeling unsafenot attaching results to the outcomegoing through the processstruggles with sellingthe creative process on a day to day basisthe importance of being outside and connecting with natureFind links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.Jill's website and InstagramHira's website and Instagram

Sarah Fraser is an editor, writer, teacher, and blogger and we talked about her personal journey of reconnecting with her creativity.She took us back on the journey along with her through her early childhood and how she always wanted to be an author but somehow along the way got distracted by the shoulds and quote-unquote real-life responsibilities of finding a well-paid career instead. She further shares how she is reconnecting with her creativity now and showing up for it.Here's what we talk about in this episode: losing touch with creativitythe decision of not monetizing writingrebel/questioner tendenciesfitting in vs. focusing on who she wanted to befalling into the trap of 'should's' and self-doubtteaching as a careerlack of mental space and time to work on new & creative ideasnot feeling like an expertsharing your struggles and being vulnerable onlinefinding support and like-minded peopledifferentiating between the voice of inner critic and intuitionimportance of creating, writing and sharing storieswhat her day looks likeIntrovert INFJ personality typeFind links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.Sarah's website and InstagramHira's website and Instagram

Learn more about me and the work I do over on my website, sign up to the letters or connect with me on instagram and let's keep the conversation going.

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